part 27: The 6th Seal & The End of the Age
Puzzled About Revelation, may 26 2022
“How we interpret the nature and timing of the 6th seal has major implications...”
Introduction
How we interpret the nature (figurative or literal) and timing (beginning or end of tribulation) of the 6th seal has major implications for how we interpret the:
(1) rest of the Book of Revelation—is it chronological or concurrent?
(2) end of the age—is it speaking figuratively or literally of the things which must first take place? Does this age end suddenly and catastrophically?
(3) nature and timing of the wrath of God—is it local or global? The saints are promised deliverance from the “wrath of God” (1 Thess. 5:9). What “wrath” are we rescued from, and when does it begin?
(4) nature and timing of the “rapture” (ingathering) of the saints—why, where, and when are they gathered (pre- or post-trib)?
NOTE: Where the teachings of man contradict the Word of God, we must reject all human traditions and myths and hold fast to that which has been delivered once and for all to the saints (Jude 3)!
The 6th Seal & The End of the Age
Revelation 6:12-17 (6th seal)
“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Q: How can the sixth seal be the “last day” when it occurs so early in the book of Revelation?
This is what I believe the Lord has revealed to me as I have read the book of Revelation over and over again and as I have tried to harmonize and see how everything fits together, because it is so clear that Revelation 6 is the end of the world. It is the Day of Judgment, it is the day that the heavens and the earth pass away, necessitating a new heavens and a new earth. But then you have the rest of the book of Revelation, the seven trumpets followed by seven bowl judgments. How does this fit if the world has already ended? I believe the best way to understand it is that Revelation is not meant to be read chronologically as books are read in the western world. It was written with a Hebrew understanding, and it is written in the same line as the OT Hebrew prophets, which were not written in a chronological or linear order. They were written in themes, and they keep circling back and re-telling the same themes of judgment and restoration, destruction and salvation using different images and different symbols, but all speaking the same message in a circular fashion. Isaiah is a good example of that; Daniel is a great example: Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 are all re-telling the same visions about the end of the age, but using different symbols. They repeat, giving a little bit more detail each time. I believe that Revelation is like that. Revelation 6 gives us one type of symbol, and one telling of the final week and the end of the age, and Revelation chapters 11, 12 and 13 do the same thing. The other chapters fill in some of the gaps.
The following is my understanding after years of studying Revelation, and which I believe has been revealed to me by the Holy Spirit as I simply worked through these things with a Bible and a concordance. This is not something that I learned from a book or was taught in a school:
That the 6th Seal, the 7th Trumpet, and the 7th Bowl Judgment are all speaking about the same event, the end of the age, and that they all occur simultaneously (as we will see from the details).
6th Seal - Revelation chapter 6
7th Trumpet - Revelation chapter 11
7th Bowl - Revelation chapter 16
Revelation 11:15 (7th Trumpet)
“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
The apostle Paul talks about a last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. The Last Trumpet heralds the resurrection of the dead, on the Day of the Lord. We are also told in 1 Thess. 4:16-17 that the Great Trumpet will herald the Lord coming down from heaven and the resurrection of the dead. I believe that the Last Trumpet, the Great Trumpet, and the Seventh Trumpet are all the same event.
The kingdom that Daniel saw, the Rock that was cut out, but not by human hands, that smashed the feet of the statue in Daniel chapter 2, and smashed all the kingdoms of the earth, and then became a mountain that filled the whole earth - that’s what Revelation 11:15 is describing, and it happens at the 7th trumpet, on the Day of the Lord, at the End of the Age.
Revelation 11:16-19 (7th Trumpet)
“16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.”
“The one who is and who was…” leaves omits, “and is to come.” Why? Because at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, He has come, “because You have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” This is at the End of the Age, the beginning of Christ’s reign.
Revelation 11:18 and Revelation 6:17 both say that God’s wrath “has come”.
A great earthquake occurs at the 6th seal, 7th trumpet, and 7th bowl judgments, suggesting that these are the same event—the Day of the Lord
With the 7th trumpet in Revelation chapter 11, we see the end of the world all over again, and the end of this present evil age, and the end of the kingdoms of this world and the beginning of the reign of the Lamb of God and the Kingdom to come; of the destruction of the wicked and the reward of the saints. So we have seen the world end twice, and we are only halfway through the book of Revelation. And in Revelation chapter 16, we see the same thing happen again, only this time with the bowl judgments.
Revelation 16:12-16 (sixth bowl)
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”
Note that the sixth angel prepares the way for the kings of the earth to gather for the battle of Armageddon on the Day of the Lord.
Thief in the night motif
Isn’t it interesting that so many people use the “thief in the night” motif that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24 as the basis for a pre-tribulation rapture (where Christ would come as a thief in the night to take His bride away before the tribulation) but here we see the same thief motif used right before the battle of Armageddon and the Day of the Lord at the end of the tribulation. This is actually a warning to the saints who are still on the earth not to fall asleep, to keep their lamps burning, and keep their clothing (righteousness of Christ) close to them.
The resurrection of the dead cannot occur until the present heavens pass away. Since the “rapture” cannot occur until AFTER the resurrection, it will not be until the Day of the Lord at the END of the age and the “great tribulation”.
Revelation 16:17-21 (seventh bowl)
“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.
20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.”
The seventh angel poured his bowl INTO THE AIR. This is significant because the saints are gathered IN THE AIR.
God’s wrath in vs. 19 is poured out against Babylon. Remember that Revelation 11:18 and Revelation 6:17 both say that God’s wrath “has come”.
Vs. 20: Lightning, rumblings, thunder, and a severe earthquake sound like Rev 6:12-14, and Revelation 16:20-21
It becomes so clear, when we compare scripture with scripture, that the 6th seal, the 7th trumpet, and the 7th bowl are all describing the End of the Age and the Day of the Lord’s coming.
Matthew 24:29-31, 35 after the tribulation
“Immediately AFTER the tribulation of THOSE days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 30 “Then (at that time) will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then (at that time) all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And (then, at that time) he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather (“rapture”) his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other…
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Job 14:12: “so he [mankind] lies down [in death] and does not rise [in resurrection]; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep.”
Man will not awake until the heavens are no more. This makes perfect sense in light of what we read in Matthew chapter 24, that the that Jesus comes, the Day of the Lord is also the day that heaven and earth passes away, and it is also the day of resurrection. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, that the resurrection of the dead must happen BEFORE the rapture/being caught up in the air.
Conclusion
Using the principle of “Scripture interprets Scripture,” and with the Holy Spirit as our guide, I believe the following truths become clear from the full counsel of the Word of God:
1. These events are meant to be taken literally and represent the destruction of the present heavens and earth, at the Lord’s coming, at the end of this present age.
2. The 6th seal is the Day of the Lord, when every eye shall see Him, and when the Lord comes to judge the wicked and deliver the saints.
3. The 6th seal occurs at the same time as the 7th trumpet and the 7th bowl judgments. This becomes clear as we study the text IN CONTEXT.
4. The Bible describes the “wrath of God” as something that is both a present reality (Rom. 1:18) and a future (eschatological) reality (Rom. 2:5). I believe the Scriptures define the wrath of God as the “Day of the Lord’s wrath” that begins with the 6th seal at the “last day”.
5. The saints are simultaneously delivered from the eschatological Day of the Lord’s wrath and destruction of the wicked through the rescue-rapture. We will be gathered to the Lord in the air, and He will be a refuge and shelter from the storm.
6. So many people think that Bible prophesy is a waste of time, but I couldn’t disagree more. Prophesy is so profitable for the people of God. We need to understand the overall picture of what God said that He will and won’t do, and, in light of these things, how should we live?
2 Peter 3:3-13
“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
We need to understand that people are going to mock and scoff at the idea of coming global judgment.
This happened during the first destruction, during the days of Noah, and it will be the same at the end (As it was during the days of Noah…)
We ought to live holy and godly lives, looking forward to the new heaven and earth, the home of Righteousness, and make every effort to be at peace with God.